use zf’s decoupling at a standstill to identify worn

12 GEARS September 2013

Use ZF’s Decoupling at a Standstill to Identify Worn Converter Rivets

The car was a 2007 BMW 5-Series with a 6-speed, ZF6HP19 transmission. The problem was a rattling noise in park and neutral. Then, when you put the transmission in gear with

your foot on the brake, the rattle was still there. Once you released the brake and started to take off, the noise went away… until the next time you came to a stop.

The rattle in park or neutral could easily be in the torque con-verter or transmission geartrain. But once you put it into gear, the geartrain comes to a stop and the converter’s loaded. So, on most transmissions, the noise would go away when you put it into gear.

A fluid check revealed no problems, and there was very little metal in the pan. But there was no doubt the noise was inside the transmission, so the shop decided to pull the unit and tear it down for a visual inspection: The noise was so bad that they figured they’d certainly have to find something loose.

A fluid check revealed no

problems, and there was very little

metal in the pan. But there was no doubt the noise was inside the transmission...

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by Rolly Alvarezmembers.atra.com

by Rolly Alvarezby Rolly Alvarezmembers.atra.com

by Rolly Alvarez


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But they didn’t. In fact, except for a little wear on the clutches, they couldn’t find a thing wrong with the transmission. So they’d have to replace the converter, right? Except the torque converter on these ZF units carries a pretty hefty price tag… too expensive to replace on a whim. They wanted to be sure a new converter was going to correct the problem.

What made things even more con-fusing was why the noise would con-tinue with the transmission in gear. Putting it into gear would load the converter, so anything rattling should quiet down.

Except this transmission has a lit-tle something extra built into its oper-ating strategy: Called decoupling at a standstill, it’s a feature designed to help the manufacturer improve gas mileage during normal driving. It’s part of the operating strategy for all ZF6HP19 transmissions — here’s how it works:

On most transmissions, put-ting the unit into gear applies the forward clutch. This effectively locks everything from the torque convert-er fins through to the input shaft, forward clutch, and input planet.


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And since the rear wheels aren’t moving, basically everything inside the transmission is at a standstill… until you release the brake and give the car some gas.

The problem with this configuration is that putting the transmission in gear loads the engine. The computer has to raise the idle slightly to maintain the idle speed. This increases fuel con-sumption.

So BMW came up with a new strategy for controlling their trans-missions. When you put the transmission in gear, but are hold-ing the brakes on and the car isn’t moving, the computer releases the A clutch — ZF’s name for the forward clutch. This reduces the load on the engine and improves fuel economy.

Then, when you release the brake to start driving, the computer engages the A clutch, and the transmission takes off like normal.

It only occurs when the vehicle’s at a standstill, and only in forward gear when the transmission fluid tempera-ture is between 13ºC and 120ºC (55ºF and 250ºF).

To make sure the vehicle drives off without delay or load reversal, the powerflow isn’t completely interrupt-ed; a small amount of converter torque is always transmitted. To determine the amount of decoupling at a stand-still, you can calculate converter torque by comparing the difference between engine speed and transmission turbine speed.

When the computer sees the brake pedal released and the throttle has begun to open or the transmission out-put shaft has started rotating, it switch-es the decoupling function off.

This occurs regardless of any other parameters. The A clutch applies to accept powerflow from the engine before the driver accelerates; this reduces the risk of rolling backward

on a hill.During most conditions, this

strategy won’t have any effect on the vehicle’s operation or your diagnosis. But there are a few minor issues that can creep in and make decoupling an important consideration. Like noises:

On most transmissions, a worn bearing on the forward clutch will make noise in park and neutral; usually a whirring or whining noise. But when you put the transmission in gear, the forward clutch engages, so it stops turning. Since the forward clutch bear-ings aren’t moving any more, they stop making noise.

A similar condition is true for the rivets in the torque converter drive plate: If they’re worn and get loose, they’d normally rattle in park or neu-tral. But putting the transmission in gear would load the plate, so the noise would go away.

Not on these units: Since the com-puter system decouples the forward clutch at a stop, the forward clutch drum and input shaft turn freely. And the converter drive plate won’t be load-ed, because the forward clutch isn’t locking the input shaft.

So, on ZF6HP19 transmissions, these noises will continue, even after you put the transmission in gear.

On this vehicle, the problem was a loud rattle. That pretty much left only one possibility: The rivets in the torque converter drive plate had come loose and the rivet holes wore. This allowed the drive plate to vibrate back and forth until the transmission actually engaged and put a load on the rivets, stopping the rattle.

Replacing the torque converter eliminated the rattle. This is a fairly common problem on ZF6HP19 trans-missions, and one that can cause you a lot of problem diagnosing… unless you understand how the system works.

As is so often the case, the key to a successful diagnosis is a thorough understanding of the systems and how they operate. Once you know what’s going on and when, you can more eas-ily analyze the conditions taking place. From there, diagnosis becomes a matter of basic logic and reason.


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use zf’s decoupling at a standstill to identify worn

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